Pros of having a job description

Most companies beyond a certain size of 150 have job titles and job descriptions. For recruitment/ selection professionals, job description is essential, because it helps refine the thinking process of the type of attributes/skills and knowledge an organisation wants to bring in for the job.  It also helps in performance appraisal, as otherwise the individual may be unfairly appraised for doing a job s/he lacks the skill set. Not to mention extremely demotivating as well.

In a rigid structure, such as manufacturing with clear tasks and responsibilities and repetitive tasks, i.e. in finding replaceable clogs to make the assembly line efficient and breaking down tasks into simple functions, an organisation where everyone does only his or her job is necessary.

Tomorrow I’m conducting a workshop on cover letter and resume writing, and the first question every student ask, is what skills should I put in the resume. My first response is, have you read the job description/ advertisement for the position.

Once you enter an organisation though, the use of a job description is both necessary but limiting.

Even in traditional manufacturing jobs like the automotive, Chairman Bill Ford recognised that Ford had become a place where they wait for the leader to tell them what to do.
Limitations of job description

In a knowledge economy, where the environment is dynamic and unpredictable because a disrupting technology is just around the corner, using position descriptions to define jobs is limiting, and is as a disincentive for performance. Job roles should be more fluid.